What new hardware are you most looking forward to from Apple in 2012?

There are a thousand rumors floating around about new Apple hardware this year but we're only interested in one -- your most wanted. As expected, both CES 2012 and Macworld 2012 have come and gone without a peep from Apple, but they did give us an education event with some iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U goodness. But I'm about ready for new hardware.

iPad 3 is likely up next, and the big rumor is Retina display on the order of 2048x1536. Less certain but still desirable are quad-core chips and LTE networking. Much the same rumors apply to the iPhone 5, just replace the already-present Retina display with an oft-requested 4-inch screen. You could throw a 7-inch iPad in there for good measure to.

Is it something subtler you're waiting for, like NFC support, or something more dramatic like 3D?

Senior Editor at iMore and a practicing therapist specializing in stress and anxiety. She speaks everywhere from conferences to corporations, co-host of Vector, Review, and Isometric podcasts, and should be followed on Twitter @Georgia_Dow.

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What new hardware are you most looking forward to from Apple in 2012?

You should have allowed multiple selections on this poll!! lol I'm personally waiting for the possibility of Retina Macbook Air 13" or 15", Retina iPad, and obviously whatever the iPhone 5 becomes. But if the new Macbook Airs have retina displays, I'm definitely going to buy one the day they come out.

Can someone explain to me why we want 'retina' everything? It makes sense on a very small device, like a phone, so people with really great eyesight can get a bit more out of a small workspace. But, on a device that normally is a few feet from your eyes anyway... do we need much more than, say, 150 dpi? Also, I can't imagine there won't be down-side tradeoffs on battery life, performance, etc. compared to if we stuck with current rez and used more advanced technology to up these areas instead of rez. Sorry, I'm just not getting it at this point outside of spec-envy.

None, really. Last year I dumped my iPhone in favor of Windows Phone, and this year I'm looking forward to replacing both my Macbook Pro AND my iPad with a Windows 8 ARM processor based tablet with laptop dock. My Apple days are coming to an end! :)

Because he's tired of Apple products and prefers Windows Phone and Windows 8 makes him a moron? Since when?
If that's what he likes then so be it. Apple makes great products but you know what, so does Microsoft.

Thank you sir, and well said. Unfortunately, there's a certain kind of elitist mentality in the Apple community which has, in recent years, begun to stink quite badly. Such arrogance and condescension is precisely the kind of blindness that leads people to follow products and corporations long past the time when it makes any sense.
I loved my iPhone for years, and evangelized it to everyone who would listen. But at the end of the day, times change, and as much as I was surprised to see it happen, Microsoft developed a brilliant new UI paradigm with their WP7 product. And as much as the Cult of Apple folks such as those above are, like any other kind of bigot, unwilling to look at anything that might shatter their beloved dogmatic beliefs, the truth is that Apple's mobile offerings have become antiquated and dated.
My hat's off to Microsoft--the same company that produced a turd like Windows Vista managed, in the space of a few short years, to produce the single fastest, most intuitive UI on any mobile device and will soon bring their desktop UI into the 21st century. And where is Apple's user interface?
Firmly stuck in 1985.

To be honest I'm just hoping that the iPod will get any amount of love this year, last year's announcement was completely unacceptable. I hope to all higher powers available that Apple gives us Siri on the iPod touch, but that's probably unlikely unless the iPhone gets some other major feature, a better camera and slightly better display would also be welcome (oh and maybe some f@*!ing A5 or A6 chip love, I mean seriously what was it with the iPod being the only iOS device to not get an A5 chip). Retina display iPad in my opinion should be a given but who really knows. I'm hoping that Apple TV doesn't get any updates yet just because I don't think I'll be able to buy it yet, (selfish I know and I'm sorry.)

I'm definitely early awaiting a true Apple TV/iTV. I'm in the market for a new TV, but if Apple is coming out with one soon, I will wait. Even if they don't, I will still wait. It's judt too good of an opportunity to pass up. That and a REGULAR iPhone 5. Just about ready for an upgrade, can't wait to get one. I just really hope it doesn't have LTE or a 4" screen. That would ruin it for me. Anyway, looking like its gonna be another great year for Apple!

What I'd really like is an iPad that's lighter. Granted I'm still using first-gen but I find the device so handy that I use it all the time, and the only real drawback I find is that it's too heavy to hold comfortably after a while.

I would love to see an ipad with a digitizer screen. I'm all about stylus support. I love the way the current crop of tablets are. I just wish they were easier to write on. This would eliminate the need for me to carry notebooks to school. It would also be very helpful for us Art students as instead of spending over $1000 on a cintiq or other drawing tablets that can only be used for art we could get ipads that would could be used for drawing and other forms of media consumption and of course school and work. Now that would be a dream come true.

I'll still buy, as I don't have a problem with how they produce their products. But I applaud you for putting your money where your mouth is, unlike everyone else who bemoans the factory conditions but still buys. Much respect to you.

The thing I want most is an AppleTV like device truly built for Airplay from an iPad. By this, I mean that it would have a built-in Airport Express type wifi router so a network could be created directly if needed (for example, if you were giving a presentation somewhere where joining the existing wifi is inconvenient or non-existant). It would also have both analog and digital out for places that don't have HDMI projectors (a lot of places).
Outside of that, I'd like to see them put a bit more effort into the software side of things. As someone else mentioned, iWork and iLife could use some love. iOS 5 and iCloud were great, but there is a lot of room for improvement as well.

Why do these polls never work for me? After I vote it just opens a new blank tab, and circle goes round and round forever. Same thing when I try to view results. Should work on an iPhone, right?
Anyway, as far as hardware: a set too box that plays all formats (even some wmv the WDTV doesn't )., cheap like Roku, supports AirPlay, and all streaming services. Oh, and is upgradable so I do not have to buy a new model or generation every year.